Tag Archives: Bill Barr

Bill Barr To Pastors: I Won’t Let States “Single You Out”

The National Review reports: During a White House conference call with more than 500 faith leaders on Thursday, Attorney General William Barr assured the participating priests, rabbis, and ministers that the administration is on guard against overzealous state governments intent on “singling out” religious groups with punitive coronavirus lockdown measures. Barr, who spoke for roughly ten minutes, told the religious …

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HHS To Scrap Medical Protections For LGBT Patients

Politico reports: The Trump administration is moving to scrap an Obama-era policy that protected LGBTQ patients from discrimination, alarming health experts who warn that the regulatory rollback could harm vulnerable people during a pandemic. The health department is close to finalizing its long-developing rewrite of Obamacare’s Section 1557 provision, which barred health care discrimination based on sex and gender identity. …

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Bill Barr Threatens Legal Action Against Governors With Strict Lockdowns: They Can’t “Impinge On Civil Rights”

Bloomberg News reports: The Justice Department will consider taking legal action against governors who continue to impose stringent rules for dealing with the coronavirus that infringe on constitutional rights even after the crisis subsides in their states, Attorney General William Barr said. Blunt means to deal with the pandemic, such as stay-at-home orders and directives shutting down businesses, are justified …

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DOJ Sides With Branch Covidians In Mississippi Lawsuit

Fox News reports: The Justice Department intervened in a Mississippi church’s lawsuit by saying in a court filing that it “strongly suggests that the city’s actions target religious conduct” after the church sued police for ticketing congregants during a drive-in service amid coronavirus, Fox News has learned. The DOJ is siding with Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Miss., after Greenville …

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DOJ Issues Warning On Coronavirus-Related Scams

Politico reports: Justice Department leaders say they are focusing on efforts to stop coronavirus fraud. In a memo to U.S. attorneys, Attorney General Bill Barr wrote that they have seen reports of phishing emails pretending to be from the CDC and of people selling fake cures for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “The pandemic is dangerous enough …

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Bill Barr: Trump Was Right To Fire IG In Ukraine Probe

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr said on Thursday that President Trump was right to fire the inspector general who disclosed the whistle-blower complaint about Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and that the president’s political enemies could face criminal prosecution. Mr. Barr said that dismissing Mr. Atkinson was the “right thing” to do, in part because …

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Bill Barr: Media Is On “Jihad” To Discredit Malaria Drug

Newsweek reports: In an interview on Fox News, Attorney General Bill Barr told the anchor Laura Ingraham it was “disappointing” to see the media response to Trump who had been “statesmanlike” in working with governors and yet still had to deal with “snarky ‘gotcha’ questions from the White House media pool.” He said that “the stridency of the partisan attacks …

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DOJ Okays Home Confinement For Elderly Prisoners

Bloomberg News reports: The Justice Department will allow more older, nonviolent federal inmates to be placed in home confinement in order to cope with rising coronavirus cases affecting the federal prison population, Attorney General William Barr said. Barr told reporters Thursday that he’s directed the Bureau of Prisons to increase the use of home confinement for elderly prisoners following infections …

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DOJ Seeks Emergency Power For Indefinite Detentions

Politico reports: The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States. Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute …

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Australian Official Positive After Meeting Barr, Ivanka

USA Today reports: A senior cabinet member in Australia’s government who said Friday he is infected with the new coronavirus was pictured last week standing next to Ivanka Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other White House officials. Peter Dutton, who is Australia’s minister for home affairs, released a statement saying he has been diagnosed with the virus – COVID-19 …

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Federal Judge Rips Barr’s Handling Of Mueller Report

CNN reports: A federal judge Thursday criticized Attorney General William Barr for his handling of the Mueller report when it was released last spring, saying Barr’s early description of the report didn’t match the special counsel’s actual conclusions. Judge Reggie Walton asked if Barr’s actions were a “calculated attempt” to help President Donald Trump and opined the attorney general had …

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Justice Dept Creates New “Denaturalization” Division

Just in via press release: The Department of Justice today announced the creation of a section dedicated to investigating and litigating revocation of naturalization. The Denaturalization Section will join the existing sections within the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation—the District Court Section and the Appellate Section. This move underscores the Department’s commitment to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, …

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Trump Officials To Speak At Christian Media Convention

ABC News reports: U.S. Attorney General William Barr will be a featured speaker today at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Tennessee. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Jay Sekulow, one of the attorneys who defended President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial, are also on the schedule. Barr’s afternoon presentation is part of a forum that will explore how …

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DOJ Spox Denies Report AG Bill Barr Might Resign

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr has told people close to President Trump — both inside and outside the White House — that he is considering quitting over Trump’s tweets about Justice Department investigations, three administration officials said, foreshadowing a possible confrontation between the president and his attorney general over the independence of the Justice Department. So …

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Federal Judges Call Emergency Meeting On Meddling

The Washington Post reports: The head of the Federal Judges Association is taking the extraordinary step of calling an emergency meeting to address the intervention in politically sensitive cases by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr. U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, the Philadelphia-based judge who heads the voluntary association of around 1,100 life-term federal judges, told USA …

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Joe Biden Joins Call For AG Bill Barr’s Resignation

Mediaite reports: Joe Biden is joining the chorus of voices calling on Attorney General Bill Barr to resign. Over 1000 former federal prosecutors and DOJ officials co-signed a letter saying Barr should resign after the events of last week, particularly concerning the DOJ reversing the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace asked Biden if he would join those …

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Former DOJ Officials Issue Statement Blasting Trump And Barr Over “Autocratic” Actions In Criminal Cases

Posted last night on Medium: We, the undersigned, are alumni of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) who have collectively served both Republican and Democratic administrations. Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice. As former DOJ officials, we each proudly took an oath to support and defend our …

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Barr Wades Into Flynn Case, Assigns Outside Prosecutor

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned an outside prosecutor to scrutinize the criminal case against President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, according to people familiar with the matter. The review is highly unusual and could trigger more accusations of political interference by top Justice Department officials into the work of career …

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Trump: I Have The Right To Meddle In Criminal Cases

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump on Friday morning broke almost 17 hours of silence following ABC News’ exclusive interview with Attorney General Bill Barr, pushing back on Barr’s warning not to interfere in criminal cases, insisting he has the “legal right” to do so. Trump repeated what he’s said previously — including just this past Tuesday — that he …

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Bill Barr Pretends To Be Upset About Trump”s Anti-DOJ Tweets, Claims He Will Not Be “Bullied Or Influenced”

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr pushed back hard Thursday against President Trump’s criticism of the Justice Department, saying, “I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody.” In an interview with ABC News, Barr said the president’s highly critical tweets aimed at the department “make it impossible for me to do my job.” Barr said …

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